Epidemic Control in a Hierarchical Social Network

The phenomenon of epidemic spreading in a population with a hierarchical structure of interpersonal interactions is described and investigated numerically. The SIR model with incubation time is used. In our model the localization of individuals in different social groups, the effectiveness of different interpersonal interactions and the mobility of a contemporary community are taken into account. The influence of different control methods on the spreading process is investigated as a function of different initial conditions. The cost-effectiveness of mass preventive random vaccinations, target vaccinations and sick leaves are compared. A critical range of vaccinations, sufficient for suppressing of an epidemic is calculated. The results of numerical calculations are similar to the solutions of the master equation for the spreading process.